PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY December 1 - 15, 2018
Canada caught in between U.S.-China fight
The arrest in Vancouver of Meng
Wanzhou, chief financial officer of
China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.,
has thrust Canada in the middle of a
dispute between two superpowers: U.S.
and China.
Canada is in the midst of sealing a
new trade deal with the U.S. and Mexico,
and at the same time, trying to develop
more trade with China.
China has ratcheted up the
pressure on Canada.
A former Canadian diplomat
was arrested in China, and a second
Canadian, who is described as a
businessman, is reportedly missing.
The Chinese embassy in Canada
claims that Vancouver arrest of the
Huawei executive amounts to a “political
conspiracy” to undermine the telecom
giant.
The embassy also dismissed
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claim
that he had no role in the high-profile
situation.
The U.S. wants Meng to be
extradited on allegations of fraud
related to purported violations of U.S.
trade sanctions against Iran.
“This is not an ordinary judicial
case, but a political conspiracy,” the
embassy said in a statement to The
Globe and Mail newspaper.
“It is a political persecution against
Chinese enterprise and [a] Chinese
citizen,” the embassy also stated.
“When the Canadian side professed
that there was no political involvement
or interference in detaining Ms. Meng,
such remarks per se [were] a political
posture.”
Meanwhile in China, state-owned
tabloid Global Times said in an editorial
that Canada should distance itself
from U.S. “hegemonism” and grant
unconditional freedom to Meng.
Meng has been accused by U.S.
prosecutors of misleading banks about
transactions linked to Iran, putting the
banks at risk of violating sanctions.
Meng was arrested on December
1 in Vancouver, and released on bail on
December 11.
The U.S. needs to make a formal
extradition request within 60 days of her
arrest.
A Canadian judge will weigh to
determine whether the case against
Meng is strong for extradition to the
U.S.
After that, it is up to Canada’s
justice minister to decide whether to
extradite her.
Huawei is the world’s largest
supplier of telecommunications network
equipment and second-biggest maker
of smartphones.
“I am proud of Huawei, I am proud
of my motherland,” Meng said in a
post on Chinese social media after her
release.
Authorities in China are holding
former Canadian diplomat Michael
Kovrig on suspicion of engaging in
activities harmful to national security.
Kovrig was detained on December
10.
Canadian
Foreign
Minister
Chrystia Freeland warned the U.S. not
to politicize extradition cases.
U.S. President Donald Trump
earlier said he would intervene in
the case if it served national security
interests.
Back in China, the official China
Daily newspaper accused the U.S. of
manufacturing the diplomatic incident
in order to serve political ends.
“Washington is mistaken if it thinks
it can take Meng hostage and ransom
her for concessions in the upcoming
trade talks,” it said.
A second Canadian man is feared
detained in China in what appears to be
retaliation for Canada’s arrest of Meng.
Canada’s Global Affairs department
said Michael Spavor, an entrepreneur
who is one of the only Westerners to
have met North Korean leader Kim
Jong Un, had gone missing in China.
Spavor’s disappearance follows
China’s detention of a former Canadian
diplomat Kovrig.
“We have been unable to make
contact (with Spavor) since he let us
know he was being questioned by
Chinese authorities,” Global Affairs
spokesman Guillaume Bérubé said. “We
are working very hard to ascertain his
Canada
whereabouts and we continue to raise
this with the Chinese government.”
A Canadian court released Meng
on bail, confining her to Vancouver and
its suburbs while she awaits possible
extradition.
The U.S. accuses Huawei of using
a Hong Kong shell company to do
business with Iran in violation of U.S.
sanctions.
The U.S. and China have claimed
that their trade talks are entirely
separate from the U.S. case against the
top Chinese technology executive.
Meng’s arrest came the same day
that Trump and Chinese President Xi
Jinping agreed over dinner in Buenos
Aires to a 90-day cease-fire in the trade
war between their countries.
The trade war has shaken global
financial markets and raised worries
about the impact on the world
economy.
The truce was meant to buy
time for more substantive talks over
U.S. allegations that China steals
U.S. technology and forces American
companies to hand over trade secrets
in exchange for access to the Chinese
market.
Canada has asked China for extra
security at its embassy because of
protests and anti-Canadian sentiment,
and has advised foreign service staff to
take precautions.
Philippines
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